


Rebound

by HeathenVampires



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Eventual Threesomes, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Multi, One Night Stand, Polyamory, Tags Are Hard, Unplanned Pregnancy, cus I know y'all look for that, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28367094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeathenVampires/pseuds/HeathenVampires
Summary: After a rebound one night stand with an old school friend, Astrid and her boyfriend patch things up. All seemed well, until Astrid realises she's pregnant and not sure who by.
Relationships: Eret/Astrid Hofferson, Eret/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 56
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Ok, let's start this bad boy at last! My first Future Firstie!**

**This first chapter, you will know, was written a while back. I've given it a quick once-over, but didn't edit it much.  
**

**This won't be like Open in many regards. I mean, Hicretstrid is end game but nobody is poly here at first. There's a clumsy, bumbling journey to that point rather than experienced polyamores. But hey, it'll be fun. I think. Mess of Eretstrid, Hiccstrid, future Hicret + Hicretstrid.**

-HTTYD-

Astrid threw her hands up in exasperation, sighing loudly as Eret just shrugged at her. She was at a complete loss.

"What is it you want? Cus right now, I'm feeling like you want to break up."

Eret shook his head, but Astrid wasn't seeing any real conviction.

"I don't want to break up."

"Then please, for the love of Thor, tell me what's going on with you."

Her boyfriend had always been wonderful. Sweet and caring, a real gentle giant type. Astrid adored him. _Loved_ him. But lately, he was secretive, irritable and Astrid was beginning to fear he was cheating on her.

"There's nothing going on with me."

Running a hand through her hair, Astrid knew if she stayed there would just be another row. She was done with that. Eret wasn't looking at her, so Astrid grabbed her keys, stepped into her shoes and reached for her jacket, wallet a reassuring weight in the pocket.

"This isn't working for me. I can't be around you like this. Call me when you sort your shit out."

"Astrid, wait!"

For a brief second, Astrid hoped he was going to finally tell her what was going on. She looked at him expectantly, but Eret just went silent, and the hope fell flat.

"Fine."

She left, feeling that lump in her throat that Astrid swallowed down. It could wait. Driving straight to Heather's, Astrid let herself in with her key, then flopped down on her friends sofa and allowed the tears to come out.

Heather didn't bat an eye finding Astrid had let herself into her friends house like she lived there. But she was quite perturbed about the crying. They lamented over chocolate and vodka, and while Astrid had a rotten hangover when she rose from her undignified face-plant into one of Heather's pillows, she felt lighter having gotten all the stress with Eret off her chest. Heather was snoring lightly next to her; the two had shared a bed as kids having sleepovers, and saw no need to change now they were grown.

Astrid clambered from the bed, clutching her skull as she raided the kitchen cabinet for pain killers, guzzled some water before trying to brush the horrid taste from her mouth - she had her own toothbrush, towel, shower gel and shampoo in Heather's bathroom. Hel, she had her own drawer and wardrobe section. Heather had her own things at Astrid's too - they were always prepared for a sleepover or an emergency.

Like Astrid possibly breaking up with her current live-in boyfriend.

Rinsing foam from her mouth, Astrid felt the tablets kicking in and headed out to the kitchen in search of coffee. Heather rose a little later, following much the same ritual as Astrid until they were bundled up under blankets on Heather's sofa.

"So what are you gonna do? You're welcome to crash here if you want to let him stew."

Astrid shook her head, tempting as the prospect was.

"Nah. I'm gonna go home, see if he's ready to talk."

She'd checked her phone at last - Heather had confiscated it when Astrid was drunk - but gotten zero communication from her boyfriend as of yet. Still, she knew Eret wasn't really a texter, and preferred face-to-face communication over phone calls. So maybe he was at home, waiting for her so they could talk.

Leaving Heather's after lunch when she felt less disgustingly hungover, Astrid drove home with a view to being open, and listening to what Eret had to say rather than starting angry. They had had too many fights already.

When she got back, the place was empty. Astrid glanced to the calendar they both wrote their work shifts on, and that day was blank. So she went through looking for signs Eret had even spent the night there and found none. The bathroom was dry, bed still made and cold. His phone charger wasn't looped up on the bedside table like it usually was.

Astrid scanned the worktops for signs Eret had made breakfast; he was always spilling protein powder or porridge oats on the side. Instead, she found a note in his messy hand resting against her hot chocolate tub.

_Gone to stay at Teeny's to clear my head._

_I love you._

There were a lot of dots and lines before the 'I', as though Eret had placed pen to paper only to change his mind about writing it. She could go to his cousins; she knew where Teeny lived and that he was a reasonable enough guy to not interfere if Astrid wanted to see her boyfriend.

If he _was_ still her boyfriend.

Astrid wasn't that sure right now.

She texted Heather to update, but declined the offer to go over there again. Astrid cleaned when she was stressed, and so the vacuum and furniture polish came out. Playing music full blast, Astrid scrubbed and swept and wiped and buffed every surface she could. Four hours later, the place was spotless and sparkling, but she felt no better.

Collapsing into a bed lined with fresh sheets, Astrid sighed deeply and looked at her phone. Nothing from Eret. Despite urges to call him and demand an explanation, Astrid told herself he wanted to clear his head, and she would offer that time to him.

After three days, Astrid was a little put out but mostly ok. After a week, she sent Eret a text to check he was still alive. He replied, but it was short and functional. Astrid began to wonder if he actually missed her at all. She shook that thought off at first, told herself she was being ridiculous.

After two weeks, those thoughts were becoming more prevalent. Eret still hadn't been home. Not even for spare clothes.

Af week three, Astrid called him while in Heather's living room, cuddling a pillow and demolishing a tub of ice cream. His cousin answered Eret's phone, said Eret didn't want to talk to anybody. Heather did her best to comfort Astrid, but it wasn't enough to prevent an angry blonde telling Teeny to tell Eret Astrid was done waiting around.

"Did you just dump him?"

Heather asked, watching Astrid hang up and grab her ice cream, stabbing viciously at the little chocolate crunch bits.

"Kind of. If he doesn't call me tomorrow I'm going to assume he's made his choice. Honestly, I'm more disappointed about how he's gone about it... I thought he was better than that."

"Yeah. Me too. If you want to move out you know you can have Dagur's old room. Not that I think you should, since he's already gone. But the options there."

Astrid did so adore her best friend and the supportive nature.

"Thanks babe. Assuming he doesn't call me back tomorrow, can we go out?"

"Depends where we're going? Quiet drink? Liver destruction? On the pull? Only I have work the day after, so if it's the last two it'll need to be the night before a day I can be hungover."

"Just a quiet drink. I just want to get out of crying into ice cream and staring at my phone."

Heather nodded, patting her hair affectionately.

"We can do that."

Eret didn't call her. Astrid resigned herself to now being single, deciding her drink with Heather that evening would now be a toast to her future spinsterhood. She dressed for comfort, not caring who saw her in a pub in jeans and a hoody moping that her boyfriend - no, _ex_ boyfriend had turned out to be a complete dick.

Heather followed suit, her well-worn favourite grey jumper draped over her slim frame. They headed out after a quick dinner of steak... only her chef best friend would call steak such a thing. The pub wasn't empty, but peaceful enough that they ordered drinks and found a table with no difficulty. The music wasn't thrilling, but it wasn't so loud they couldn't talk. All in all, it was what Astrid needed to break up her breakup moping.

"So, have you decided about moving out yet?"

"No. When I'm not ready to strangle Eret, I'll think about just throwing his stuff out the window for satisfaction."

Heather snorted into her glass, her fruity cider smelling sweet over Astrid's vodka and coke.

"I'm sure Dagur would help."

"I've no doubt, but I want a clean break from the relationship. Not Eret's legs from his body."

Dagur was a tad overprotective, considered Astrid as much his baby sister as he did Heather. It would be a shock for him too - he actually liked Eret. So the break up might dent that friendship. And Eret's face, if Dagur got the chance.

"I need more alcohol."

"Coke for me" at Astrid's raised eyebrow Heather added "one of us needs to be fit to drive."

Point taken, Astrid headed up to the bar. The guy who had served her was busy with a group of men, but he saw her waiting, turned and whistled to the door behind him. Someone came out, was gestured toward Astrid. _Oh,_ he was pretty though. Bright green eyes, shaggy auburn hair and a jawline he could cut glass on.

"What can I get you?"

Oh. She should talk.

"Do I know you?"

That wasn't a drinks order. Astrid mentally slapped herself. Pretty man cocked his head, then smiled and nodded to himself.

"Astrid. Astrid Hofferson."

"That's me."

"Hiccup Haddock. We went to school together. Granted, I was about a foot shorter and looked about six."

 _This_ was Hiccup? Holy Hel. He had grown up.

"Do you work here?"

"Not quite. I live upstairs while I'm between homes, work here to help out. Here on a date?"

Gesturing to her outfit, Astrid gave Hiccup an incredulous look.

"Do I _look_ like I'm on a date?"

Hiccup shrugged, giving her the once over.

"Depends on the date. Drinks?"

"Oh. Right."

Astrid ordered her drinks, paid and returned to Heather.

"What took you so long? The massive queue?"

"Familiar face. Hiccup's on the bar."

"Not Hiccup Haddock?"

"How many Hiccups do _you_ know?"

Heather craned her head, almost falling out of her seat.

"That's _never_ him. Damnnnn."

"Right?"

Taking a sip of her coke, Heather stretched in her seat. Looked at Astrid strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

Astrid eyed her friend shrewdly.

"What?"

"Well. You're allowed a rebound. He's cute."

She rolled her eyes at Heather, took a swallow of her drink.

"I distinctly remember not saying on the pull."

"So you don't mind if I hit on him then?"

Astrid glared.

"Not at all."

"Riiiight. So eager to refute me you forget I have a boyfriend."

Astrid was definitely going to kill Heather.

"Shut up."

"Come on. You've not gotten any in a while" yep, Astrid was going to kill her "and there is a _hot_ guy over there who had a crush on you for about five years."

_"What?"_

Grinning, Heather nodded and made a shoo-ing gesture.

"You never knew? Haddock had it baaaad. Now go hit on him."

"Heather-"

Heather cut her off, literally hand over her mouth and not even blinking when Astrid licked her palm to get rid of it.

"I'm not saying jump the lad. But you wanted a change from crying over Phish Food. When was the last time you even _looked_ at another guy? I know you're bummed out, and he always made you laugh."

Reluctant but aware of Heather's persistence and stubbornness, Astrid got up to return to the bar. Dressed in her comfies and not looking for anything, she hoped Hiccup wasn't on the bar so Heather could shut up and go back to letting Astrid contemplate burning Eret's clothes.

"Another drink already? I hope I'm not enabling a wallowing."

Damnit.

"What makes you say that?"

"I serve alcohol. You sense these things. Wanna talk about it?"

Sighing, Astrid slumped on a bar stool and looked expectantly at Hiccup until he presented her with her next drink.

"Alcohol administered. Talk."

She lamented the trouble with Eret loosely, complaining about an ex and some distress at the way be basically disappeared and ignored her.

"And you didn't go round and kick his ass?"

"Thought about it. But if I'm not even worth talking to... he's certainly not worth that much effort."

"Fair point."

Hiccup stayed chatting to her for a good fifteen minutes, only moving to serve an old lady a whiskey. Heather scuttled closer, nudging Astrid's arm.

"It's gonna get late and I have an early shift. You want a ride?"

Astrid wavered, but she wasn't done drinking.

"I'll get a taxi."

"If you don't come back to mine, let me know you got home alright babe?"

"Will do."

Heather squeezed her arm, kissed her hair, waved at Hiccup and left. Hiccup smiled politely, returned to Astrid's spot at the bar.

"So it was a hot date."

"Totally."

"You can clock off Henry, Gus is here."

Hiccup nodded at the boss man, then turned to Astrid.

"If you want, you can come upstairs and drink and whine about your ex?"

Astrid eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you trying it on Haddock?"

"No, I just know you're a private person. And drinking upstairs with me will be free."

Point taken, Astrid followed Hiccup around the back of the bar and up the stairs, tamping down on an urge to punch the guys wolf-whistling behind them. Did she look like she was on a booty call?

"Please ignore the decor. This isn't a long term place for me."

It was a bit sparse on decorations, aside from drawings stuck to the walls. Hiccup was always doodling away in school, she remembered.

"If you don't work here, what do you do?"

"Part time at my dads garage, part time designer for a motorcycle company. Best of both worlds. You?"

"Personal trainer. With all the ice cream and alcohol I've had recently, I've needed the extra work outs."

Hiccup lifted up a pile of folded clothes and put them on a table, gestured to the available space and Astrid sat on the sofa.

"Speaking of, what's your poison? I have whiskey, beer, vodka and a rather fancy wine... it's not what it sounds like. My uncle kicked the habit, we all cleared out his stash cus he wouldn't hear of it being poured away "

Having been worried Hiccup was a closet alcoholic, Astrid breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"Wine. Heather hates it, so we never drink it."

"Are you fussy about glasses?"

"No?"

Hiccup came out, handed her a tall glass tumbler - not standard wine fare - and plopped down on the other side of the sofa.

"So, would you like to rant some more about your ex? Or get hopelessly drunk and sleep on my sofa? We could do both."

Astrid sipped her wine, which was really quite nice, and sighed.

"You could tell me what this is about."

"How so?"

"Well. We haven't seen each other in six years. You hear I'm recently single and invite me upstairs for a drink. Be fair, it looks suspect."

Hiccup frowned into his drink, then nodded.

"Fair enough. And honestly? You looked sad. I didn't want you to be sad."

"That's it?"

He nodded and sipped from his glass. For some reason, Astrid actually believed him.

"So... boyfriend? Work? General life? I am available for all ranting."

"Really?"

"Well, I would wager I'm the only guy you know with an ex boyfriend myself."

Astrid almost dropped her drink.

"You're gay?"

Was she a little disappointed? Or just tipsy?

"Nope. Like I said... best of both worlds. I came out at uni, but obviously by then our lives had branched out."

"So, bisexual?"

Hiccup nodded, smiled.

"Does that bother you?"

"Nope. I am curious though. Boyfriend or girlfriend break up that brought you here?"

"Girlfriend. Well. Ex girlfriend. Mom offered to let me move in with her but it would have doubled my commute."

They talked for what felt like _hours,_ only sipping from their drinks when mouths grew dry and Astrid wondered when the last time she'd had such an in depth conversation with someone other than Heather, Dagur or Eret was. Not that meaningful conversation with Eret had happened in a while. She had progessively sobered up from a relatively mild alcohol consumption by then, and her notice of how ridiculously pretty Hiccup was hadn't faded.

"Hungry?"

"I could eat."

"Pizza? Brownies? Or if you're on a health thing I've got chicken."

"Brownies."

Astrid immediately craved chocolate when he mentioned it, followed him to his little kitchenette. The haphazard slices said they were someone's home bake, Hiccups expectant expression telling they were probably his. Astrid bit into one, an explosion of rich, moist flavour bursting across her tongue.

"Oh my gods, these are _amazing."_

"Thanks. I like them."

Licking her teeth clean, Astrid resisted the urge to devour the entire plateful. They were delicious, but she'd had enough stress-eating days. Hiccup did the same, then eyed her strangely.

"What is it?"

"You have a little... do you mind?"

Astrid shook her head, watched Hiccup reach out and brush crumbs from her cheek. It must be that she had missed touch for so long, that her breath hitched slightly as his fingers brushed her jaw. If he noticed, Hiccup didn't point it out. He looked away, fingers twitching at his sides.

"Do you want to stay here? Or shall I call you a taxi?"

"Did you really have a crush on me for five years?"

What possessed her to ask, Astrid had no idea. Curiosity? A need to know somebody wanted her?

"That's very specific."

Well, that wasn't an answer.

"Heather told me earlier. Did you?"

"No."

Astrid wasn't sure why, but it stung, and she felt like she'd made things awkward.

"Fair enough. I should-"

"I still do."

Hiccup's words were low, barely above a whisper but Astrid heard every word.

"What?"

"Come on. You're still the gorgeous, whip-smart blonde you always were. Hel, _more._ Of course I'm still attracted to you."

Astrid looked up, made a snap decision and grabbed the babbling idiots shirt. Hauled him closer, kissed him. Hiccup made a sound of surprise, but he responded eagerly, hands on Astrid's hips pulling her even closer. Then he was pushing her away, shaking his head and she missed the chocolate she could taste on his lips.

"Wait. Wait. You're drunk."

"Nope. As my bartender, calculate how many drinks you gave me over how many hours."

Hiccup actually stood there, thinking about it.

"Ok. Not drunk. But-"

Astrid kissed him again, curling her fingers in his ridiculously messy hair. Hiccup's arms held her tight, but he pushed her away again seconds later and left her gasping, breathless. _Damn,_ he could kiss.

"What now?"

"I'm not naive, we're both on rebounds. But I don't want you regretting this."

Gods, he was definitely still _Hiccup._

"I won't. Will you?"

Hiccup shook his head, a deep flush of arousal staining his cheeks already.

"Gods no."

"Then stop worrying and fuck me."

His mouth landed on hers again, relentless and hungry and Astrid _ached_ with need; she and Eret hadn't had sex, had barely even _touched_ for weeks before the split. Now here was Hiccup all grown up and hot, kissing the living daylights out of her as he tugged up her hoody, hands soon exploring the bare skin revealed. She yanked his shirt up equally eagerly, leaving them both shirtless and Astrid's hand splayed over his groin to feel him swell beneath the fabric there

Astrid found herself braced over the arm of his sofa, bra still on and jeans around her knees as Hiccup probed her with his fingers, joking how fortuitous it was he had only been to the pharmacy that day when he pulled a condom from a bag on his table. Wanton, needy, she whined in frustration as Hiccup took his sweet time to put the damned thing on.

"Oh, fuck..."

Hiccup filled her steadily, sharp hipbones brushing against her skin as they came flush. He gripped her, so Astrid returned the favour, squeezing at his cock and Hiccup bucked, groaned.

"E-easy!"

"Don't want it easy" Astrid pushed back, words mostly low growls "I want it rough."

His hands stilled her, thrusts shallow. Little more than a tease.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Pure need rushed her on, urging Hiccup with her until he was _moving_ at last, still shallow thrusts at first but soon increasing in speed and depth. And confidence, too. Hiccup clearly enjoyed her responses, and when Astrid moaned and swore as he fucked her, he gave her the rough she craved, hand pressed on her back to pin her slightly while his other hand slapped across her ass and Astrid jolted, crying out as she shuddered

"D-do that again!"

Hiccup obliged, slapped her ass again and _fuck_ that felt good, the pain a delicious burn that fuelled that churning heat his cock stoked with each thrust. His rhythm grew almost punishing and Astrid knew he'd needed it too, the abandon, the quest for pleasure and little more. It was evident in the power behind his hips as they slammed against her, it was there in the vice grip his fingers had in her skin.

Those fingers uncurled, sliding down to press to Astrid's clit, leaving her to topple under the fast, feral blaze they'd sparked between them. Hiccup made his own sounds of satisfaction when Astrid came, buckled under the pleasure himself if his stuttering rhythm was any indication.

That first time only took the edge off for both of them. His sofa, bed and bathroom all saw more of Astrid than most people had, and Astrid woke next morning to Hiccup's light snores next to her, a throbbing ache between her thighs that made her smile, a half-dozen missed calls and several more texts from Heather. The last one insinuated pretty much exactly what had gone on, starting with Astrid going off with Hiccup after Heather left. Had Astrid been that obvious?

Feeling a _little_ guilty, Astrid redressed and slipped out without waking Hiccup. He'd said it himself - they were both on the rebound, and they'd gotten what they needed from each other. Called Heather from her taxi home, looking the absolute epitome of walk of shame and not caring a jot. It had been so good just to have fun again.

Of course, she wasn't expecting to find Eret in their- no, it was _her_ flat when she walked in. Still with Hiccup's sweat on her skin and looking utterly fucked after not being home all night, Astrid reckoned ex boyfriend knew where ex girlfriend had been, and what she'd been doing.

"What do you want?"

"I'm bisexual."

Ok, she wasn't expecting _that_ as an answer.

"I know. But that doesn't answer my question?"

"You what?"

Astrid had known a while; she saw her boyfriend checking out other men all the time. She just assumed he didn't think it mattered enough to mention.

"Look, Eret, I'm glad you had your epiphany. But I haven't heard off you in a month. And I really need a shower."

Astrid catalogued faint bruises here and there, a healing bite mark on her chest. Well, she _had_ asked for it rough. She showered quickly, dressed in fresh clothes and felt infinitely more human for it.

"Ok. Talk."

"Are you seeing someone?"

"No. I did have sex last night, but that was... wait, why am I explaining myself to you?"

Eret looked hurt, and Astrid realised with a deep pang that she did still love the massive idiot. They sat, talked. And talked. And _talked._

"I was... worried I was gay I guess. I didn't know how to handle it all, so I... I didn't. But I realised I still love you, and I am hoping I didn't ruin us so much we can't work it out."

Astrid didn't regret the previous night, but she also knew as soon as he said it that despite his poor handling, Eret had just been in an emotional turmoil and withdrawn from her out of fear. He was back there now, and seemed genuine about making amends.

"Alright. We'll try. But no more freeze outs or silent treatment. One chance here buddy."

And so they began work to patch up their relationship. She and Eret talked in depth about his epiphany, about coming out and so on. About how if he ever pulled the same stunt again Astrid would definitely burn his clothes. Heather was glad they made up. It was all good in the Hunter-Hofferson pad - even if Astrid felt bad dropping out on Hiccup without a word. It was just a one night thing, they both got what they wanted that night. She'd have liked to go back and actually befriend him properly, but figured that was a little weird when they'd hooked up the night before she got back together with her boyfriend.

A month or so after all of that had transpired, Astrid was glancing at the calendar in passing to check her shift at the gym. She spotted something, and started counting. Recounting. Double checking. In all the Eret-based emotions, she hadn't noticed.

She'd missed her period.

-HTTYD-

**Like I said, it wasn't edited much, but let's get on with the fun!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**This won my 400 tumblr followers poll a while back, but I've been struggling to get on top of writing, so it took me a while to get started.**

**Alas! Let us begin to continue.**

-HTTYD-

Eret paced around outside the bathroom, waiting for Astrid to let him know what was going on in there. Those few minutes waiting for the results felt like _hours,_ and he resisted the urge to ask her if it was done yet, pacing some more. Finally, the bathroom door opened, and a rather nervous looking Astrid emerged.

"It's positive."

Part of Eret was _thrilled._ While it was a little early in their relationship, and they weren't quite where they wanted to be in terms of housing and careers, he and Astrid had agreed early on that they wanted children.

But of course, there was a chance the baby wasn't his. While he and Astrid were on a break, she'd spent one night with another man. Eret had gotten past that - they were on a break, and Astrid had thought they were broken up completely, and so Eret did not hold it against her that she'd done something any single woman was free to do. Resentment wouldn't have helped them patch up their relationship. Besides which, Astrid had used condoms, and told him up front. Honesty and safety was all he could have asked for. And it hadn't really mattered... until Astrid missed a period.

The window for conception overlapped with her night with her old school friend, 'Hiccup'. And while she'd had sex more times with Eret, she'd used condoms with both men and so there was no way to know which one had failed.

"I already told you that if it's his, I'm still happy to raise them as my own."

If Astrid had already had a child by another man when he met her, Eret would have dated her anyway. So while it wasn't exactly _ideal_ to have her potentially carrying another man's child, the circumstances meant he was prepared to take that on. And it was more likely it was Eret's baby anyway.

"I know. But I still have to tell Hiccup. I wouldn't want to wait months to be able to do a paternity test and drop that on him _then,_ when I could prepare him for that possibility in advance."

Eret sighed, holding his arms out. Astrid stepped into them gratefully, resting her head on his chest.

"I get it. Suppose we should talk about that."

Astrid went to throw the positive test in the bathroom bin, rather than leave the peed-on-stick on the side, then washed her hands and followed Eret out to the living room, where he sat down and she curled up against his side.

"If it is his, and he wants to be involved, I'm not inclined to say he can't be."

Astrid said, and Eret nodded; he'd expected as such.

"Yeah. I mean, it would be a weird thing to get used to, but you're right. If I was in his situation, I'd want to be in their life, and I'd be pretty upset if I wasn't allowed any contact at all."

His girlfriend kissed him, smiling softly.

"Thanks for being so... _you_ about all this. I know it's not really a situation we expected to be in."

Eret shrugged as best he could with an armful of Astrid.

"It happened. No use being mad about it. And they can do that blood test for paternity at... 10 weeks now? So we tell Hiccup - gods, that's some nickname" Astrid giggled "and then you go for a scan and we find out how soon we can get our answer. This might all be done with in like, two months. And if it's not, I guess we... befriend Hiccup. Or at least get to know him. I know you went to school with him, but I'd want to know him a bit before we agreed to hand over our kid for weekends."

Biological or not, Astrid's child was going to be _his_ child too. Eret was certain on that front.

He wasn't looking forward to explaining that to his dad, but he was sure Eret Sr would come around eventually if it _did_ turn out to be Hiccup's child.

"Of course. I think the two of you would get on. He's pretty funny."

Eret raised an eyebrow.

"You don't... it was just a one night stand, right? You don't have feelings for him?"

Astrid shook her head.

"Of course not! I was lonely, he was cute and available. That was it."

Eret was pretty sure that was the case, but he still felt reassured hearing it from her.

"Just had to check."

"Nothing to worry about. I love you, you big idiot. And I love you all the more for being so mature about all this."

Astrid burrowed into his hold more with a contented sigh, humming when Eret lazily stroked her hair.

"So, how are you gonna tell Hiccup?"

"Well, I'm gonna go see if he still lives in the same place. If not, I know where his mom lives, she'll be able to get hold of him."

"And _why_ do you know where his mom lives?"

Astrid rolled her eyes, and then herself, turning until she had her head on Eret's leg, looking up at him from his lap.

"Because he mentioned in passing that she lived in the same place she did when we were at school, and I know where _he_ lived back then, because it wasn't that far from my childhood home. There was some conversation prior to the sex, I didn't just mount a stranger I vaguely recognised from school."

Eret cringed slightly.

"Delightful image, thanks for that."

Astrid laughed.

"Well, I'm making sure you know it's not cus I stalked him all these years and was just waiting for my chance. I didn't even recognise him at first. Nor did Heather. Hang on, let me find my school yearbook, and then you can see what I mean about the difference when you meet him."

She managed to find it quite quickly, which was thanks to Eret. His Sami family were absolutely rigorous in protecting photos, marking as much of the history of their people as possible, after so much of it had been lost in the past. So when he and Astrid moved in together, Eret made sure to file her photo albums and the like away safefy too.

Flipping through, Eret confessed himself a little underwhelmed by the idea Astrid had found 'Hiccup' cute. Sure, he wasn't gross or anything _,_ but he was pretty thin and baby-faced in the school pictures.

"Here's his mom, she was here our last year because the school trialled a therapy dog thing and she's a vet. She volunteered."

Astrid pointed out, and Eret could see the family resemblance, wondering if he was looking at features that his and Astrid's kid might have. Definitely thinner features, edging on a little delicate. When Eret voiced that, Astrid laughed.

"If you met Valka, you'd see she's _anything_ but delicate. And Hiccup's bulked up since then. I was taller than him when we were sixteen, now he's about your height."

"Yanno, I'm starting to wonder if I should feel worried."

Astrid rolled her eyes again.

"Don't be ridiculous. I already told you I found him attractive. That's nowhere near the same thing as him being _any_ threat to our relationship. I was just explaining why I didn't quite recognise him at first."

Maybe Eret _was_ feeling a little insecure... but Astrid's blunt demeanour and undeniable honesty was reassuring as ever.

"Are we alright now?"

She asked, and Eret nodded.

"Yeah, we're good."

"Ok, good. So, the pub will be open now."

Eret blinked, surprised.

"You want to go _now?"_

Astrid nodded sharply.

"Yes, for several reasons. The main one being that I want go out and make sure we have some crackers and ginger drink in for if I start getting morning sickness, cus my mom said she had it rough and I don't want to be caught unprepared. _And_ we're out of ice cream and chicken. So if we go now, we can go to the supermarket on the way back, then we have nowhere else to be til tomorrow."

Her wink left Eret feeling a little warm, knowing _exactly_ what she was getting at.

"Alright. Let's get going."

"Thought you'd say that."

She laughed as they got up, Eret pulling her back to kiss her before they rose from the sofa. Astrid smiled, heading to change her clothes and put on her boots while Eret went in search of shoes, car keys and their wallets.

"How far is this pub?"

He called out to Astrid as he heard her coming back holding her boots. She sat down to tie them as she answered.

"Not very, though it's closer to Heather's than here. I'll drive, rather than sit in the passenger seat playing the role of SatNav."

Eret handed over the car keys when she straightened up, and they were out the door before long. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't nervous - after all, how often was it you went to meet the guy who potentially knocked up your girlfriend? - but the sooner they got the awkward bit out of the way, the sooner they could get on with other things. He hoped Astrid was right, and that the guy wasn't a dick.

"I want to tell Hiccup now rather than later, but I figure we should hold off on telling anyone _else_ anything until I've been to the doctors and had it confirmed. Especially given the uh, complications."

He had no reason to disagree with Astrid.

"Yeah. I don't really wanna tell my parents that you might be pregnant, but it might not be mine, only to say that it was a false positive."

"Yeah, I can only imagine - and _dread_ \- the conversations my mother will try to have with me."

Astrid sighed, turning the car around a corner and drumming her thumbs against the wheel. Eret recognised that his girlfriend was a little nervous, and he couldn't really blame her. They were about to drop a bit of a bombshell on her old school friend. The rest of the trip was continued in silence, until Astrid finally spoke again.

"That's the pub, just gotta find somewhere to park."

Eret felt increasingly nervous himself as they parked up and exited the car, Astrid taking a few deep breaths before she straightened up and nodded toward Eret.

"Watch him not even be here and we have to go track down his mother for a real awkward chat first."

He joked, trying to cheer Astrid up. She cracked a smile, and took his hand as they headed over to the pub. Astrid let go to open the door, a heavy, creaky old thing that probably came with the creaky, old-style building. Eret followed her in, watching her scan the room. It was pretty quiet - some people were still likely to be at work, and so there were only a few dedicated afternoon drinkers and a couple of people watching some sports game or other. Obviously not spotting him, Astrid headed up to the bar and got the attention of the bored-looking bartender.

"Excuse me, but is Hiccup still staying here?"

"Who's asking?"

"I'm Astrid. I was here about a month ago. He invited me upstairs. Is he still here, or do I need to go and ask his mom?"

The bartender frowned, then nodded.

"He still stays here, but he's out right now. You're welcome to wait down here for him."

They ordered drinks, hoping it meant the bartender would stop glaring. Astrid was on non-alcoholic, both because of driving and pregnancy, and Eret followed suit even though he thought a little alcohol might have done his nerves some good. They sequestered themselves in a corner that had a view of the bar - Hiccup was likely to come in through the back, but had to cut behind the bar to get to the stairs that led up to his rooms.

Astrid had drained her coke and started fidgeting before long. Eret tried to make his last, but the ice had melted and diluted his drink so it tasted terrible. Suddenly, Astrid sat up straight again.

"Oh, that's him."

Still expecting to see the skinny, round-cheeked boy from Astrid's school pictures, Eret looked over to the bar.

Well, _fuck._ To a man still fairly new to accepting his broadened sexuality, Eret personally thought it was unfair that he was apparently expected to deal with such a _ridiculously_ pretty man being in his life all the time. Seriously... _wow._ Astrid had not been kidding that puberty had been good to the man. He was tall, slender, and those round cheeks had slimmed down to reveal high cheekbones.

"Hey Hiccup, you got visitors."

Halting on his way home, Hiccup turned and looked in the direction the bartender pointed. His confusion was visible, but after a few seconds he shrugged and gestured for Astrid (and hopefully Eret, cus he was going anyway) to follow him up. He had a couple of bags of shopping in his hand, which told them where he'd been while they waited.

"So, haven't heard from you since... well, you dropped by."

Hiccup spoke as Eret closed the door behind the three of them, throwing keys on to a table and lifting the bags up alongside. Astrid shrugged.

"Yeah. I uh... Eret and I patched things up the next day, and it felt kind of weird to imagine coming back here to hang out with you after what happened."

Seriously, he was _so_ attractive. Eret was having a little trouble dealing with it. He definitely understood Astrid's surprise when comparing the pictures he'd seen to the man in front of him. Hiccup gave a short nod, pulling a couple of things out of the bags.

"Understandable. I'm assuming _this_ is the boyfriend in question... but I don't really understand what you're doing here. You didn't even stay for breakfast before."

"Yeah, this is Eret. Eret, Hiccup. Hiccup, Eret. And I'm here because, well, I'm pregnant. And you sort of fall into the window of possible conception time."

Hiccup looked _stunned._

"W... what? Wait, we used protection. Right?"

Astrid nodded.

"Yes, but Eret and I use condoms too. So I have no way of knowing, at this point, where along the lines it was that one clearly failed it's assigned task. I've only done a home test right now, but I'm gonna go to the doctors and get it confirmed. Ideally, we'd like to do a paternity test at the earliest possible point... unless, you know, you want nothing to do with any of this anyway."

Still looking rather dumbfounded, Hiccup answered by blinking a few times before his mouth seemed to catch up.

"Uh. Wow. I might need a minute to process this. So what you're saying is... you can't be more than a month along right now, but want to get a test done while you're pregnant? Aren't those dangerous for the baby?"

"Amnio tests are, but they can do a non invasive paternity test with my blood at about ten weeks. So, it would be six or seven weeks from now we can find out. But only if you're interested at all. No hard feelings if you're not. Eret and I already talked it through, and we're having the baby regardless of if it's his biologically or not."

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Hiccup sank into the nearest chair, gesturing toward the sofa for Astrid and Eret to sit on.

"Right. So... what's my part in all this? Aside from the obvious. What happens if this kid _is_ mine, hypothetically?"

"Well, if it is, we're amenable to you being involved in their life if you want to be, but Eret's gonna raise them too. If that's what you want, we'd want to yanno, get to know you better over the next eight months. I know we went to school together, but I think we've changed juuuust a little since then."

Hiccup gave a slow nod.

"Alright. I _do_ want to be involved, by the way, if you are pregnant and it is mine. Do you need me to come along for the test in a couple of months?"

"That's up to you. Just testing Eret would do it though. If it's not him, it's you."

Hiccup tapped his hands against his knees, then turned toward his table and pulled a notebook toward himself and started scribbling.

"Here. Take my number so you can uh, let me know when you've been to the doctors to confirm pregnancy, and then we can go from there?"

Astrid took the paper, nodding.

"Sounds good. I didn't mean to drop this on you so suddenly, I just didn't want to wait until we could determine paternity and then drop it on you _then_ when we'd known for a whole two months already."

"I appreciate your diligence. Was there anything else? Only Eret there looks ready to jump ship."

Eret did his best not to look as caught out as he felt, because Hiccup wasn't totally wrong.

"Hey, cut me a break. Not every day you're sat talking to the stranger who may or may not have knocked up your girlfriend."

Who also happened to be really attractive... shaking off the thoughts, Eret noticed Hiccup was laughing. His smile was sort of lopsided, but it suited his face.

"Yeah, that's fair. Well, you came and told me, so you're free to escape I guess. I'll await further information."

Standing up alongside Astrid, Eret was quite happy to head for the door.

"Oh, and Astrid? Congratulations, by the way."

Astrid halted, then turned and smiled at Hiccup.

"Thanks. I'll let you know when we know."

They headed down the stairs, out past the bar and into the street. After letting out a deep sigh, Astrid turned to him with a smile.

"Well, I think that went pretty well, don't you?"

Astrid was unaware of Eret's mild internal crisis, so he simply nodded and agreed.

"Yeah, I guess."

-HTTYD-

**Hiccup: *exists* Eret: "how dare you be this attractive"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: "I'm writing with a buffer so I can update more regularly... BUT I HAVE NO PATIENCE TO KEEP THEM!"**

**In other words... have another chapter!**

-HTTYD-

"Well, Miss Hofferson, if you'd like to hop up on to the table, we'll have a look."

Astrid shuffled over and climbed up, feeling very aware she had no underwear or bottoms on - because she was so early on, there was a chance they'd need to use an internal ultrasound, and so they'd asked her to strip off from the waist down. With her shirt rolled up, she was essentially bare from just below her bra to her toes, save for some socks. Eret was making a very thin effort not to laugh, and Astrid glared for good measure as she waited for the scan to start. As expected, nothing really came up on the abdominal, but they'd said that could happen when she wasn't even likely to be six weeks along yet if she _was_ pregnant.

The internal probe wasn't nearly as fun as the internal stuff that might have put a baby in her, but it _did_ give them one of their answers.

"There it is. I can confirm you are definitely pregnant. And everything looks good, from what I can see. Based on size and from what you've told me, six weeks is about right."

Well, that kept Hiccup slap bang in the potential conception window, but at least they _knew_ now, and it made thinking about a future including a baby feel a little more _real._ Astrid nodded to the question of wanting a print-out, though Eret jokingly squinted at it and asked if the doctor was sure. The doctor humoured him for a moment, handing Astrid some paper towels to clean up the goop smeared over her stomach. Amongst other places.

They headed to the desk to get booked in for the next one, and then headed back out in to the world. Eret was still holding her hand, which Astrid found reassuring. She trusted him, and _believed_ that Eret meant it when he said the baby not being biologically his wouldn't change anything for him. But she was definitely properly pregnant. Astrid felt that entitled her to a couple of days panic that Eret might have changed his mind when they first saw the tiny blob that was going to grow into a baby.

"So, there's definitely a baby now."

"Yeah. I'm gonna text Hiccup, cus I promised I would let him know when we knew for sure and I don't wanna forget. But now we know how far along it is, which means we know when we can do the paternity test."

Eret nodded in agreement as Astrid pulled out her phone, him starting up the car and reminding her to put on her seatbelt. She did so, hitting send on the brief text that told Hiccup pregnancy was confirmed, and that they'd be doing the test in about a month. Hiccup texted back pretty quickly.

_"I looked it up and it says it can take up to two weeks for the results to come back, so I guess I'll just wait to hear off you in six weeks? You said I didn't need to take the test myself since it's only between me and Eret_ _."_

Astrid hummed to herself, tapping her fingers against the side of her phone. It felt a bit... awkward to just agree with Hiccup's text. He'd been unwittingly dragged into their situation, and now he was just being left hanging for almost another two months?

"Eret?"

"Yeah?"

Astrid chewed on her words.

"How do you feel about... hanging out with Hiccup some time soon?"

Though he was watching the road, Astrid was still looking at his face and saw mixed emotions cross it.

"Uh, why? Did he ask to?"

"No. The opposite. I just... I feel bad just telling him to wait around. Yeah, we're stuck waiting too, but we have each other and have no idea if he has anyone _he_ can talk to about all this. I just thought it might ease the awkwardness of this whole thing a little if we... I don't know, invited him over for dinner and actually talked to him for a bit. Just as friends. I'm still not interested in dating him, if that's what you were worried about."

Eret stayed quiet a few more minutes, and Astrid let him think about it.

"Yeah, alright. So long as you're not trying to set up a threesome."

Astrid snorted.

"No, definitely not. I'm sure it'll all be fine. He's funny. I think you guys will get along."

"Let's hope so, since he might be the father of our child."

Astrid nodded, but the words _our child_ brought a smile to her face, gave her a warming sense of reassurance that Eret really was invested in the baby whether or not it was 'his' biologically.

"I was thinking about that for a bit, actually. If this kid _is_ Hiccup's... or even if it isn't, I thought I'd put it out there that I'm happy to have another baby down the line. Maybe not right away, but I know bloodlines are important to your family, and also I think we'd make cute kids."

Eret smiled, turning the car and Astrid recognised their home coming up.

"Thanks. That means a lot. And we definitely would make cute kids. I like the idea of a little Sami kid with your smile. And on my side... if the kid is Hiccup's, I still want to teach them about their Sami heritage. They'll still be mine, and I wouldn't wait and only teach it to their little brother or sister. That's my kid, no matter what."

Astrid swallowed, feeling a little choked up by the passion in her boyfriends voice, and she knew how much it really meant for him to say that. The car parked, she undid her seatbelt and stretched up, grabbing Eret's wonderful face and kissing him soundly. He was smiling when they pulled apart, and Astrid leant her head into his shoulder for a minute, breathing his scent and feeling so damn _lucky_ to have such a mature, understanding and lovely boyfriend, when she'd not have blamed him at all for saying the whole thing was too much for him to stay with her. Though Astrid was certain if that had happened, he would still have been there for the baby if it was his.

"Did you text Hiccup to invite him over?"

"Uh, not yet. Trying to figure out how to do it without it feeling like a 'we need to talk' thing that'll worry him."

Eret nodded, the two finally leaving the car and heading home. He offered to make her a decaf coffee (that part was gonna _suuuuck_ ) while Astrid figured out how to text Hiccup back. Eventually settling on her words, she waited for a reply. Eret looked over when her phone buzzed against the table.

_"Uh, alright? You guys aren't gonna sit me down and say you've changed your mind and don't want me involved even if the kid is mine, are you?"_

**"No. We just thought we'd give hanging out a shot sooner rather than later. If you're not up for it, just say so and we'll leave it til we know for sure."  
**

It took him a little while to answer, but his response was positive.

_"Well, alright then. Let me know a time and a place and what I should bring."_

Astrid smiled and passed the message on to Eret, recounting that Hiccup could cook really well as she remembered his home-made brownies and the smell of lemon and herb chicken in his fridge.

"I dunno, ask him to bring dessert then?"

Nodding, they talked availability and work schedules - Astrid was going to need to talk to her workplace about her pregnancy at some point, as she'd have to adapt her personal training a little for safety and be signed off certain activities, especially further along - before Astrid sent her reply, which Hiccup answered saying he could make it and he'd bring something, followed by an ask if either of them were allergic to anything.

Within a few minutes, it was all set up. _With a little luck,_ Astrid thought to herself, _it won't be really bloody awkward the entire evening._

* * *

"Oh my, that's quite a situation you've gotten yourself in to son."

Hiccup scrubbed a hand through his hair, and nodded at his mother. He was over there to visit her, and had been unable to keep from spilling about the whole thing going on with Astrid and her boyfriend, and the baby that may or may not be his. He knew that night hadn't been a declaration of love or a promise of anything in the future, but it still stung to wake up to her having just disappeared, and after they had talked so much he'd sort of hoped they could be friends again.

But it was not to be, and though it didn't stop the sting, he understood Astrid's reasons, and she'd never pretended that more was on the table.

"Yeah... I thought I was having a rebound one night stand with my high school crush. But noooo, I might have accidentally ended up becoming a father."

Valka let out a little giggle, shaking her head.

"You do seem to find ways to keep life interesting."

He shared in her mirth, stretching his legs out and hearing a satisfying _click_ from his knee.

"Well, the alternative is _boring._ Boo to that."

They shared another chuckle, and Hiccup happily petted the nearest animal - his mother had several pets and he loved visiting the fur-filled house.

"So, you're going to see them?"

"Yeah. They said if it turns out I'm the father, they wanna get to know me so they feel comfortable letting me help raise the kid. Which I'm totally on board with, because it also means I get to know _them,_ and they'll be the ones spending the most time with them. And since there's still another six weeks until we get the paternity results, seems they figured we might as well get started now. Just in case."

Sipping her tea, his mother nodded slowly.

"I see. Well, it sounds like everybody is being quite mature and thoughtful about it all."

"Yeah. Eret seems surprisingly cool with it. I mean, I'm glad. I never meant to come between them."

He rolled his eyes as Valka snickered, shaking his head but unable to suppress a fond smile.

"You're terrible."

"I apologise. It just sounds... given that you're bisexual, it might be something you would do!"

Laughing, Hiccup shook his head again.

"Well, yes. But Eret's straight, so take those thoughts out of your mind, you dreadful woman."

After sharing dinner with his mother that evening, Hiccup headed home feeling happy, and lighter for getting everything off his chest - he'd opted not to tell her before they were even sure Astrid was pregnant, but they were now, and he generally told his mother everything anyway.

The next day, after he got back from work, Hiccup got on with his baking in preparation for the day after that, when he was going to Astrid's place for dinner with her and Eret. Remembering Astrid had enjoyed his brownies quite a lot, he figured he was on safe ground with anything chocolate, but didn't want it to look as though he was trying too hard. So he made brownies and blondies, in case Eret didn't like chocolate. Everyone liked chocolate. But just in case.

Treats cooled and boxed up ready in the fridge, and all the washing up done, Hiccup sat down with his dinner and watched bad TV until the hour was late enough that he didn't feel 'old' for going to bed.

The next day, after he'd been to work and gone home for a shower and to pick up his pre-prepared treats, Hiccup headed over to the address Astrid had given him. It wasn't a fancy area, but it was nice enough, he thought to himself as he pulled up. Tucking his cake box under his arm, Hiccup headed over to the building, looking up at the sea of windows as he waited.

 _Hopefully,_ he thought, _this won't be_ the _most awkward evening of my life._

-HTTYD-

**If Eret ever had doubts about Hiccup, I'm sure Hiccup's baking would win him right over.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Neighbours have started doing DIY again. I swear, they must destroy the house on a weekly basis.**

-HTTYD-

Astrid was right. Hiccup _was_ fun to be around. Eret tried not to get sidetracked by the fact he was so damned lovely to look at, and they were all pretty awkward at first when Hiccup first turned up. The ice was somewhat broken by his baked goods, which a peckish Astrid fell to happily, urging Eret to try them too.

And she was right on that front too - they were delicious. Hiccup sat and chuckled as Astrid stuffed her face.

"I'm used to that reaction."

Eret found himself smiling, found himself put at ease by Hiccup's calmness. Astrid had reassured him, obviously, but he didn't know if Hiccup was hoping for something more than just the allowance of involvement in raising the baby Astrid was going to have if it turned out to be his. So far, he hadn't shown any signs of that. It was early days, but they had a little over a month before they'd know either way.

"Food smells good."

"That's on Eret. I'm not much of a cook, but his family are Sami and big on their food."

Hiccup looked over at Eret, nodding slowly.

"There's Viking blood in my family. Maybe our ancestors crossed paths."

Not a lot of people knew what Sami meant right off the bat, and Eret confessed himself pleasantly surprised.

"Let's hope it was a friendly cross."

"Well, I'm pro Indigenous rights. My mother is Australian, her family supported the Aboriginal people in protecting their land rights. So _this_ Viking supports you."

"So... if the baby is yours, you won't have an issue with me raising them to know where their family - _my_ family - came from?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Not at all. I'd like to be able to teach them about my line too, but my family is Pagan, not Christian. I have no problem letting them carry on both cultures."

Grateful and relieved, Eret smiled.

"I'm good with that. Astrid?"

"You know I'm happy to let you teach them about Sami heritage. We might have to talk about if certain holidays clash though."

Hiccup hummed.

"Well, assuming the kid was mine and I wanted to take them to like, a family celebration, I'd make sure you two were welcome to come. My mom already knows about all this, and she's supportive."

"You told your mom?"

Astrid asked, and Hiccup nodded.

"I tell my mom everything. She thought it was hilarious, said I just like to find ways to keep life interesting."

"What about your dad?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"I figured I'd wait until we know for sure. I don't want him getting his hopes up. I'm an only child, which is uncommon in our family and so he's hoping for grandkids. He's not pressuring me or anything, but I know if I told him _now,_ he'd be upset to find out in a month or so that it's not true."

"What's he gonna think of... yanno, how it happened?"

Eret asked, understanding the father-wanting-grandkids bit entirely but not wanting to deal with any other kind of pressure. Like "you got her pregnant, why aren't you married" or something.

"Oh, he'll think it's funny too. Honestly, they're all pretty laid back. If I explain what's going on to them, they'll deal. Unless you guys didn't want _them_ in their grandchild's life. Then we'd have a problem."

"No, of course not."

Both Astrid and Eret answered at the same time, and that made Hiccup laugh. It really lit his face up, and Eret wished he could stop noticing that.

"Then I think we're all good. And this all might not be important anyway. I think your food is cooked, by the way."

"Oh, shit!"

Eret leapt up, but thankfully the oven hadn't begun cremating the dinner yet when he got to the kitchen. There was a tap at the door, and he turned to find Hiccup there with that damned _smile_ on his face. The one that made Eret wonder whether meeting Hiccup sooner would have made his sexuality slap him in the face.

"Just thought I'd see if you needed any help."

"Oh. No, I'm good thanks."

Hiccup smiled and nodded before turning back. He heard Astrid start talking again, and worked on sorting out their dinner. Seemingly unable to not help, Hiccup returned soon after and said Astrid had sent him in to get cutlery and drinks. Rather than try to juggle the two, he put the cutlery _in_ the glasses to carry back through, then returned for the drinks from the fridge.

"Astrid already said not to touch her diet coke, are any of these others yours?"

"Yeah, but unless it's the last of something I don't mind which you take. I'll have beer."

 _Damn_ that smile. Hiccup retrieved the drinks and went back through, leaving Eret to carry plates in. They didn't have a proper dining table, but Hiccup didn't seem to mind sitting on the armchair with a plate in his lap.

"What meat is this? Beef?"

"Yeah. Slow roasted. Astrid's favourite."

Astrid grinned, and Hiccup complimented it as soon as he'd swallowed the first mouthful. They ate mostly in silence, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable like Eret had been dreading it to be. They polished off the rest of Hiccup's baked treats after (the ones Eret managed to wrestle away from Astrid, that was) and when Hiccup left for his own home a little later, he left Eret feeling far less worried about how the next eight months may or may not go, results depending. Of course, it was only the first time he'd really spent time with Hiccup, but he was content with the whole evening.

Well, apart from how Hiccup's smile made him feel.

* * *

Astrid reached up and crossed off the '7' on the calendar, marked out to measure number of weeks of pregnancy. Three more until they could do the test, five more until they'd know for sure. And she'd probably start showing around then too - she stayed pretty slender in build with her active lifestyle, though Astrid was still want to destroy a tub or two of ice cream a week. No more alcohol, she knew. Which she wasn't that upset about. The cutting out _caffeine_ on the other hand...

At least Eret had found her a really tasty decaf, so she still got to enjoy _coffee._

Speaking of Eret... Astrid stretched out in her seat and watched Eret, who was doing his morning push-ups. They both liked running and the gym, but Eret was going to be working late that day so he was getting a morning home-workout in. Astrid was thinking about another kind of workout entirely just watching him.

"Hey, Eret?"

"Yeah?"

"What time do you have to leave for work?"

Eret stopped, leaning back on his knees to look over at her after he checked his watch.

"In about an hour, why?"

"Checking I had time to come over there and jump on you."

Since Astrid was pregnant, and had an STD check up done already as part of pregnancy care (Eret had gotten one the year before, and she trusted that he'd not been with anybody else since), the couple were free to stop using condoms, and it was quite fun. The sex itself wasn't much different, other than messier, but Astrid supposed it was the feeling of liberation and the intimacy of skin-to-skin she appreciated. It was an act of trust, and after their relationship was put to the test so recently, that trust felt all the more powerful.

"On the floor? Or would you rather head to the bedroom while I run to the bathroom?"

The floor was still appealing, but Astrid figured she shouldn't send Eret off to work with carpet burns on his back and so detoured to their bedroom, stripping off her clothes and hopping up on the bed to wait. Eret had much the same idea, joining her naked and glistening with water where he'd wiped himself down after working up a sweat. Astrid beckoned him over, enjoying the grin on his face as he looked over her naked body.

Eret knew not to throw her around as energetically as he usually would, as that sometimes set off her nausea. But she could still throw _him_ down, which Eret definitely seemed to appreciate as Astrid crawled on top of him, kissed him soundly and moaned softly when Eret's hands cupped and squeezed her ass. She _loved_ his hands, big and strong, rough and calloused from rock climbing and weight lifting and his general love of the outdoors, and his touch often made her shiver with desire.

He moved her until her thighs straddled his hips, giving Eret the angle he wanted to grind up against her. Astrid squirmed, pressing her hips down to feel his cock twitch in response. Eret groaned against her mouth, breaking the kiss to mutter that she was a tease. Astrid chuckled, grinding harder against him and enjoying the sounds he made as he felt her arousal wetting his cock. Even that wasn't enough to get him in her, Eret instead opting to urge her to move along until she straddled his face instead. Though she wasn't really complaining... Eret was _awesome_ at oral.

She was horny, and sensitive, and Eret was gripping her thighs with his big wonderful hands and his lips and tongue were as eager as always. Astrid rocked her hips in time with his ministrations, one hand on the headboard to brace while the other gripped Eret's hair, fingers occasionally tightening when his tongue found a particularly sensitive spot. One of his hands moved from her leg to fist his cock, and Astrid quickly ended _that_ particular endeavour quickly.

"I'm not done with you yet."

Eret rolled his eyes, and Astrid knew if his mouth weren't currently busy making her squirm and moan he'd have cracked a joke about how he was always good for a round two. Happy as she'd have been to let him bring her off multiple times, she was aware they didn't have all day to fool around, so Astrid reluctantly tugged his hair until he stopped the lovely things he was doing.

"What's up?"

 _"You,_ and I'm keen to have chance to use it."

Snickering, Eret nodded, winking as he licked his wet lips while Astrid tried to get her quivering legs to work. Mostly successful, she moved down Eret's body, giving his cock a few teasing strokes before she straddled him properly. He held himself in place so Astrid could sink down on him, both groaning in concert at the still-quite-novel feeling of unprotected sex. Eret wrapped his hands around her hips as Astrid started to ride him, biting her lip as she savoured the way Eret felt inside her, his girth filling her perfectly.

"Fuck, Eret..."

His hips flexed in response to her breathy utterance, fingers digging in to her sides as Eret held her tighter. They both began to move faster, harder, sweat beading on flushed skin as savouring each other gave way to a mounting urgency to reach their respective orgasms. His mouth had already gotten Astrid pretty worked up, and when Astrid leaned forward to grind down on him, the pressure of his pelvis against her clit was enough to push her over the edge. Her legs tightened against his hips as she shuddered, nails digging in where they were pressed against Eret's torso and his slowed thrusts keeping her on edge a little longer, sustaining the high until Astrid slumped, panting and grinning.

"You close babe?"

Eret nodded, so Astrid gestured that he could go ahead and finish, a little sensitive as her muscles twitched around him but it still felt good, especially while watching him go to pieces, muscles tense and eyes screwed shut.

He still chuckled whenever they were done, as his cock softened and slipped out of her, followed by the mess they were still new to making. Astrid grinned, leaning forward to lie on his chest with a contented sigh. Eret wrapped his arms loosely around her back, the two basking in the afterglow for a little while before Eret started chortling again.

"What's funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about whether or not you're gonna be quite this insatiable the entire way through pregnancy. I mean, you were pretty hot for me before, and I can't blame you, obviously. But even more so lately."

Astrid rolled her eyes, swatting lazily at his chest.

"Shut up. I seem to remember you were on me pretty damn quick after Hiccup left last week. Barely even let dinner go down."

Eret's cheeks coloured, and that got Astrid intrigued. It took a lot to make Eret Hunter _blush._

"What is it?"

He swallowed, not quite meeting her eye.

"Eret?"

She pushed, confused.

"I uh... it was just all the talk about pregnancy. I started thinking about stuff like you with a bump and... I liked it."

Astrid raised an eyebrow.

"That's it?"

He nodded quickly, then looked over at the clock.

"I uh... I better shower if I'm gonna not be late for work. You wanna share?"

Astrid debated it, but shook her head.

"No, if I join you you'll _definitely_ be late for work."

They shared a chuckle, before Astrid reluctantly rolled off of Eret's cosy torso. He sat up, handing her the wipes pack from the side of the bed so Astrid could do a cursory clean up while she waited her turn for a shower, then leaning over to kiss her before he went off to rush through a wash so he could get to work on time. At least they'd had time for the fun part, she grinned to herself.

She got up to go pack Eret's lunch - he batch-prepped his own main meal bit in advance, but Astrid could put protein bar and snacks in the box he took with him, and fill up his two re-useable drink bottles to go with it. Her boyfriend appeared from the bathroom looking delicious in nothing but a towel, stray water drops running down over his bare chest. He gave her a few joking flexes, then winked before saying the bathroom was free.

"I've packed your lunch up ready for you."

"Aww, thanks love. I better go get ready, lovely as the view is."

Astrid gave him a joke wiggle, since she was still clad in her birthday suit in the kitchen. Eret wolf-whistled in return, and they went their seperate ways. She was just getting out of the shower when he came back in to brush his teeth, dressed and quite blatantly ogling her wet, naked skin as she dried off, feeling her lips quirk into a small smirk when she caught him staring.

"Having fun?"

"Mhmm."

He said with a mouthful of foam, leaning over to spit and rinse. When he kissed her goodbye, Astrid considered making him _very_ late for work, but her very mean boyfriend went ahead and left anyway. After a couple of minutes pouting, Astrid got dressed and got on with her day, tidying up around the flat and occasionally just laying on the sofa, hand on her flat stomach as she considered the potential routes her life could take in the coming months.

Despite the complications of their situation, Astrid found she was undeniably excited.

-HTTYD-

**Don't worry, we'll get some Hiccup POV next chapter, he is not forgotten.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I didn't make it to a five chapter buffer. I caved and uploaded all of them. I HAVE NO REGRETS.  
**

-HTTYD-

Hiccup tried not to calendar watch, he really did. But after he caught sight of the numbers on the calendar at the Hofferson-Hunter flat, Hiccup couldn't help but mentally count them himself. Two more weeks until the test, which meant a month tops before they knew for sure.

Their dinner had gone well enough, he hoped. His offering of brownies and blondies _certainly_ went down well.

Watching the couple together had been... interesting. Hiccup wasn't... _jealous,_ but he supposed there was a pang of longing. He _wanted_ kids, absolutely, but the way it might have happened would never have been his first choice. Or second choice. Probably not his third either. Astrid and Eret definitely seemed to be entirely back on track, giving each other loving looks, holding hands, talking about how they were going to be raising the kid together.

And Eret didn't seem to feel like Hiccup was a threat either. Also good. Hiccup was genuinely more upset Astrid had just upped and left without so much as a goodbye than anything, though a small part of him _was_ a little disappointed when he first heard Astrid and Eret had gotten back together... but he really was happy for her, and so far Eret seemed an all round good guy. Whatever had made their relationship so rocky Astrid ended up in the pub where she bumped into Hiccup, seemed entirely dealt with. Plus, he and Eret even had a little common ground that helped them start talking, where both of them had ancestors that dwelled up at the top of the world.

Groaning, Hiccup flopped back on to the sofa, looking around his little homespace as though it would offer inspiration. He was planning on moving out anyway, but now he was waiting on the paternity results - if the baby wasn't his, he could just look for somewhere close to work, but if it was, he supposed somewhere that was more in between wherever Astrid was living and work was going to be more sensible. He needed to ask Astrid and Eret if they were planning on moving before the baby was born in that case though, otherwise he might end up choosing somewhere inconvenient. Well, at least the pub landlord said he could stay as long as he needed, so Hiccup supposed there was no rush.

There was a knock at the door that led to the stairs down to the pub, and Hiccup knew scarcely anybody actually came up those stairs. He got up and headed over, found one of the bar staff there.

"Hey Henry, I know you're not on today but Chris just called in sick and it's a game day, are you busy?"

"Only with brooding. Let me change and I'll be right down."

He put on some clean clothes and laced up his boots, heading down the steps and appearing behind the bar. A glance at the screen with a crowd told him it wasn't a major game, but they had a dedicated group who turned up for most of them. None were prone to getting belligerently rowdy, but Hiccup did have to tune out their complaints about 'nagging wives' and the like so he didn't get in trouble for asking why they were married to people they apparently didn't like. Losing himself in the fairly mundane, repetitive tasks of wiping up spills and refilling glasses, Hiccup whiled away his afternoon until the crowd had begun to clear, and he was relieved by someone turning up for their five-till-eleven shift.

That left him free to return to his brooding. After a little deliberating, Hiccup went to do some baking, which always relaxed him. Once the muffins were in the oven and there was bread dough rising on the side, Hiccup sat down with his sketchpad, doodling a couple of dragons to pass the time. He felt much better after the distraction and the eating of muffins, though his eyes still strayed to the calendar a couple of times.

Hiccup wasn't really sure what to do with himself while they waited. He felt like it was weird of him to ask to hang out with them again, and there weren't really a lot of conversations that were necessary until they were sure if he was the father or not. And not thinking about it wasn't really an option, because it was kind of a life changing thing.

He called his mom, because she already knew what was going on and so Hiccup could lament to her in between baking, enjoying her calm reassurances. She did still poke fun at him a little, but he knew it was her way of making him laugh to bring a smile to his face again.

_"Oh, love, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."_

"I know, but it's a tough wait, and I don't even know what I want the answer to be."

_"Have you changed your mind about being involved?"_

"Gods, no. If the baby is mine, I want to be in their life. But I just feel like... it would be easier on everyone if Eret was the biological father and we could all just go on as we were before?"

His mother was quiet for a moment, but Hiccup knew she was thinking.

_"Perhaps. And that may well be the case."_

The thought kind of hurt, if he was honest. Hiccup was doing his best not to hope for anything, but part of preparing for the prospect of fatherhood did mean he was thinking about it, and part of his mind had taken the possibility and ran with it, images of a small child with Astrid's features and his freckles popping up, unbidden.

_"I think these puppies are about ready to arrive, so I'll have to go, but call me later if you need to talk son?"_

"I will. If all goes well, send me a photo!"

She laughed and promised as they hung up. Not all animal births went according to plan, but he did so love to see the pictures of newborn litters she sent him when things went well. He was smiling after the call, despite his anxieties, and sent a text for his mother to read later thanking her for taking the time to talk to him. He got up to check on his baking and the dough left rising, letting the familiar processes relax him.

He definitely didn't look at the calendar again.

* * *

Astrid sighed as she hit _end call_ on her phone, having just finished calling her mother.

"She still complaining?"

Eret asked as he handed her a cup of coffee, sitting down next to her with his own. Because he was lovely like that, Eret had switched to decaf too, so Astrid didn't have temptation lying around the house. He probably still drank caffeine outside of the house. Traitor.

"Oh yeah. She apologised right after, but did float the idea of me terminating if it was Hiccup's. I have no problem with abortion, but for a _wanted_ child just because she doesn't like that it might not be yours? Ughhh."

"Wow. My dad isn't happy, but even _he_ didn't go that far."

"Yeah, well, the test kit is on it's way and my appointment is booked to have my blood stolen. We'll have an answer pretty soon and then if it's yours, everyone can go away and wait for it to come out. If it's Hiccup's, I assume there will be some fresh complaining to be done."

Eret snorted.

"Blood stolen? You make it sound like vampires are doing the test."

"For all we know, they are!"

The test kit arrived a couple of days later - a day after Astrid's ten week mark. It looked quite small and unassuming, with an instruction leaflet, a blood sample kit for her and a little pack of individually wrapped swabs she presumed were for the potential fathers. There was a return box for it too, so it could be sent safely and quickly back to the testing place. She texted Hiccup to let him know - she'd promised to keep him updated - and sat staring at it for a few minutes in silence after that.

It didn't _matter..._ but it did, at the same time. She and Eret were going to raise the child as theirs no matter what the result was, but if the test came back with Hiccup as the biological father, then the child would have a third parent, which meant an extra set of family members. Though, as Hiccup seemed certain they were all going to be supportive, maybe that wasn't the end of the world. Kids could always do with plenty of love, right?

Her phone started ringing, Hiccup's name flashing up on the screen. Astrid reached over and picked it up, answering with a small degree of confusion.

"What's up Hiccup?"

_"Uh. This might sound weird, and I know you said it only needs Eret for us to be sure. I definitely believe it's between the two of us, but... I was wondering if I could send my DNA in with the kit anyway."_

"How come?"

_"I just... I feel like it would make the result more real if it has my name, or randomly assigned number or whatever, with the confirmation of yes or no next to it."_

Astrid hummed. She definitely understood where he was coming from, and it didn't cost anything extra to have Hiccup's DNA tested alongside Eret's. And he hadn't really pushed for anything other than a request to be kept informed so far, so Astrid didn't feel like he was being hugely demanding or unreasonable.

"Alright. My blood test is the day after tomorrow and we'll be sending it off after that's done, so can you come by tomorrow evening?"

_"Sure. Your place?"_

"Yeah. After seven, if that's possible."

_"I finish work at six thirty, is eight alright? Gives me time to go home and shower first so I don't smell like garage."_

"Eight works. See you then."

Astrid relayed that call to Eret, when she phoned him on his break to let him know the kit had arrived. He was understanding too, and agreed he'd probably want the same thing if their places were reversed.

"Not long now."

She commented, and Eret agreed.

_"I know. I'm still excited either way, but it'll be good to know."_

Astrid felt the same, and was reminded again how happy and lucky she was to have such an amazing man in her life. She rubbed her stomach with a smile.

"Yeah. Well, I'll see you when you get home. Love you."

_"Love you too."_

She hung up, smiling a little even as she looked at the box again. With a hand pressed to her stomach, she chuckled.

"Not even showing or kicking yet and already causing drama, huh?"

Each week made it feel a little more real. The paternity test also had the option of confirming the sex, and while that didn't make the slightest difference to them either way, Astrid was sort of done with mystery in this pregnancy. So they'd agreed to find out, but also agreed not to colour code their child, and were still talking about whether or not they'd tell anyone else (aside from Hiccup, if he was the father).

Hiccup arrived at a couple of minutes past eight the next evening, and Astrid laughed when she saw he'd brought food along.

"This isn't me trying to hang around... I bake to relax myself and this whole thing has me a little antsy. So I'm giving cake and cookies to everyone I see. I checked everything in here is safe for pregnant people to eat."

Astrid grinned.

"Not complaining! Come on in. You want a drink?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Sure, water would be great."

Eret went to get it for him while Astrid helped herself to a chocolate chip cookie, then went in search of the test kit box.

"You two are lucky, you just have to do the cheek swab. They have to steal my blood!"

"In fairness, it would be kind of weird to know foetal DNA was floating around in your mouth the way it does in your blood."

Hiccup replied, thanking Eret for the glass of water while Astrid snorted.

"Alright, that's a fair point. So, write a H on here and then stick this in your mouth and rub it a few times on the inside of your cheek so it can get some cells."

Hiccup took the swab from her, holding it in one hand while he lifted the glass to his mouth with the other, then put his drink down to one side and scrawled his initial on the side of the box.

"Did it hurt?"

Eret asked when Hiccup was done, and he shook his head.

"No. Kinda weird, cus it's just cotton and I've only ever had cotton in my mouth at the dentist. But not painful."

Hiccup handed the box back to Astrid, and she slipped it in the return packaging so it was ready to go out the next day. A rather awkward silence lingered before Hiccup cleared his throat.

"Well, I won't take up more of your evening, but thank you for letting me do this."

"No problem. I'll text you to say it's been sent back tomorrow, and then I guess I'll call you when we get the results back. Even if it says you're not the father, you're welcome to come see the letter for yourself if that'll help. Or I can send you a photo of it. Whatever works."

Hiccup nodded, gave her a tight smile.

"Thanks. I guess I'll wait for news."

Astrid felt bad to leave him hanging again, but also wasn't sure if it was weird to invite him over again with the test hanging over them all. As she sat being poked and prodded the next morning to get her blood drawn, Astrid was relieved the wait was almost over.

"All yours. Don't go drinking it. You're ten weeks now, yes?"

"Yep."

She confirmed.

"So you've had your first screening?" Astrid nodded "Alright. Your next scan should be around twelve weeks, and your next blood test around week sixteen."

Astrid nodded to show she'd understood it, waiting for the cotton to be taped to her arm before she slipped the vial with her name on into the little protective case, then put that into the return package so she could go mail it off on her way home.

"Thanks!"

She told the phlebotomist, who nodded.

"You're welcome."

After a brief trip to the post office to send everything off - Eret had added his swab to the mix the night before - and a text to both Hiccup and Eret, Astrid headed home. Between pregnancy and blood work, her workplace had agreed it was best she take the full day off.

They said it could take up to two weeks, and it was exactly twelve days later the all-important envelope came through the door. Astrid was about to leave for work when it arrived. She shouted to Eret, who was in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

"It's here!"

Still foaming at the mouth with a brush in hand, Eret stuck his head out of the door and nodded for her to open it. Hands shaking a little, Astrid pried the envelope open. There were other papers in there, one with the results that said there were no obvious signs of chromosome-based problems like Downs Syndrome, another to say she was welcome to a repeat test after the baby was born if she wanted - honestly, Astrid was pretty sure they'd have been able to tell on sight if they were waiting _that_ long!

And then the one they were waiting for.

"Well?"

Eret asked, mouth rinsed and a towel in his hand. Astrid scanned the letter a couple of times to be sure, then looked up at her boyfriend.

"Hiccup's the father."

-HTTYD-

**I mean, we all knew that was gonna happen. Except these three. But now we know! On with the next few months of... getting to know each other.**


	6. Chapter 6

**It's amazing how I can go from totally on top of things to terribly behind in what feels like no time at all. Time blindness is a bitch.**

-HTTYD-

Hiccup stared at the paper, still in shock. He'd been preparing for the possibility, but to have it _confirmed..._ he really was going to be a father.

"Wow. So now we're sure, yeah?"

Astrid nodded, chugging a can of ginger drink down eagerly while she waited for Hiccup to be done staring.

"Yep. Congratulations, you're gonna be a daddy Hiccup."

"Yeah. But it's a three-parent thing still, right?"

He looked mostly to Eret, since it was _his_ choice to involve himself in raising another man's child. Eret nodded, no trace of doubt on his face or in his voice.

"Yeah. They're still my kid. We're just not going to deny you a place in their life if you want it."

"Thanks. I still do. I guess now I get to tell my dad. That's gonna be fun."

He'd already texted his mom with the confirmation, but she already knew about the pregnancy. Now he needed to tell Stoick, who was no doubt going to go crazy about it.

"Yeah, I gotta tell my parents too."

"And me."

Astrid added, rolling her eyes and groaning.

"Uh... my parents are going to want to meet you guys at some point. If you're not up for that right away, I understand, but they are gonna want to know who's involved in their future grandchild's life. Especially since I guess it's gonna be something like you get the week and I get weekends, so you'll be around them _more."_

Hiccup said, and Astrid chewed her lower lip.

"Yeah... not right away, but I get it and we'll definitely meet them at some point. And yeah, it probably will be something like that. We'll probably have to talk about different custody arrangement when they are school age, cus we won't want you taking _all_ their weekends, but while they are little that sounds logical."

Astrid answered, and Hiccup gave a nod of agreement.

"Well, yeah, but that's a few years away. Gotta get them _here_ first, and that's still... about six months away?" Astrid nodded "So for now, we should focus on the bit where _we_ get to know each other, right?"

"Right. Well... dinner seemed to go alright before. Shall we do that again sometime soon?"

"Sure. I don't get my work rota for the next few weeks til tomorrow, shall I text you my evenings off and you can pick one that works for you?"

"Yeah..." Astrid trailed off, looking at Eret pointedly and the two seemed to share a silent conversation before she looked back to Hiccup "figure we should ask. I have an ultrasound appointment in a few days. Do you want to come?"

Hiccup blinked a few times before nodding eagerly.

"Yeah. Yes! I do. Uh, when? I'll make sure I get off work."

Astrid gave him the time and place of her appointment, and Hiccup wrote it down in his phone so he could make sure he was able to make it, heart fluttering strangely in his chest at the prospect of _seeing_ the ultrasound, knowing that the little being growing in Astrid's belly was definitely his meaning that he could be sure he was seeing _his_ future child.

"Did the test determine the sex too?"

"Yeah, but we figured you'd ask if you wanted to know. Do you?"

"It's not gonna change how I feel, but yeah."

Astrid nodded.

"Baby girl. Between the two of us, I'm expecting a _lot_ of freckles."

Hiccup laughed.

"Yeah. They do sorta run in my family."

And Astrid had freckles too, though they were much lighter. Hiccup had seen several more hidden beneath her clothes... but he wasn't meant to be thinking about _that_ any longer. Tough given the very prominent reprecussions of that night, but still.

"I should get going, gotta call my dad before he goes to bed. I'll text you my work rota tomorrow and we can pick a dinner date. Not like _that._ You know what I mean!"

The other two shared a laugh before nodding, and Hiccup took his leave. His mind was still whirring as he went home, but the waiting for results was over and it meant he could push his energy forward into getting to know the other two parents of his future child, and dealing with the solid knowledge he was going to be a parent. He'd have to get _baby stuff_ at some point! And put a baby seat in his car. Did he need to get baby formula or not?

Shaking his head so he wasn't too distracted to drive, Hiccup managed to get home without an accident and climbed the stairs to his little flat above the pub, pouring himself a celebratory drink once he was up there. All confusion and strange circumstance aside, he _was_ actually excited.

He called his dad as soon as he'd changed into comfortable clothes, bracing himself for a _long_ conversation. Gobber answered after a couple of rings, and agreeably went to hand the phone to Stoick where he was apparently sat outside in the back garden. Sure, it could have waited until Hiccup was next at work, since he worked _for_ his dad, but he couldn't quite contain it all, and now he was certain, it felt wrong to deny his father the knowledge his mother had already had for weeks.

_"Son? Something wrong?"_

"No dad. Does something have to be wrong for me to call?"

_"No, but since you're due back at work in the morning, I figure it's something that couldn't wait!"_

Hiccup took a deep breath.

"You're right, it couldn't. Now, I have to tell you something, but I need you to promise to hear me out completely before you react, or this will take all night! Alright?"

_"Alright, alright. What's so important it couldn't wait til morning?"_

Tipping the tumbler in his hand side to side and watching the amber liquid slosh around, Hiccup braced himself and began to explain.

"Ok. So, you already know I'm living above this pub. Someone came in that I knew from school. You might remember the Hoffersons?"

_"Aye. I remember you being quite sweet on that Astrid girl... are you calling to tell me you have a girlfriend?"_

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Dad, I said wait!"

_"Sorry, sorry. Go on."_

"Right. So, yeah. Astrid came in. I noticed she was kinda down, so when her friend wanted to go home I invited her up to chat and catch up. One thing led to another... ok. Let's not go into details, but... she's pregnant. By me. But she's also back with her boyfriend, and he's willing to stay with her and raise the kid too. So... that's happening."

There was dead silence for a good minute on the other end of the line. Hiccup actually checked he hadn't accidentally hung up at some point. Then his dad exclaimed so loud he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

_"Gobber! I'm gonna be a grandpa!"_

Well, Hiccup had been right to wait until he was sure, as his father was predictably over the moon. He waited for the rest of the information to process, sipping at his drink.

_"Wait. Did you say she's back with her boyfriend? How did the two of you..."_

"Long story full of personal details, but suffice to say they were on a break. Their relationship is good now, and I've met him, he seems like a good guy. Hasn't once tried to suggest I shouldn't be involved. And we talked about culture stuff, cus we're Pagan. He's Sami, and we're in agreement that both can teach the kid about our individual heritage. It's all very... mature."

_"How long have you known about this?"_

"For certain? A couple of hours. Astrid came to me a few weeks back to say there was a chance, but they can't do the non invasive paternity til ten weeks, and it took until today to come back. She's twelve weeks along now. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure cus, well, I didn't want you getting your hopes up. I know how badly you want grandkids. Maybe not like _this,_ but it's happening."

His father fell silent again, before his voice was a little quieter.

_"I'm sorry, I didn't realise I'd put that much pressure on you about it. Thanks for telling me."_

"It's done with. And yeah, now you know. I'm going to the ultrasound in a few days... that's gonna be surreal."

They talked a little more - both his dad and Gobber offered congratulations when they realised Hiccup was _happy_ despite the weird way it all came about - before they hung up, since they'd see each other the next morning anyway. Hiccup slumped back against the sofa and sighed, but still smiled to himself when he thought about the baby again. A weight had lifted with the confirmation, allowing him the freedom to _get_ excited.

He got an early night after finishing his drink, dreaming of sweet, if slightly strange images of he, Astrid and Eret all cooing over a child. Hiccup woke feeling a little... _lonely,_ if he was honest. He'd been single a little while, after all, but now was hardly the time to go looking for a new relationship. _Oh yeah, by the way I got a one night stand pregnant so there's gonna be a baby soon that I'm gonna be having on weekends..._ that would totally go over well. Though Eret proved it was possible to get past that... but then again, Hiccup had enough to be focusing on.

Like getting to work on time, he reminded himself as he saw the time. Hiccup jumped out of bed and rushed through a shower and change, then headed out.

His dad was visibly excited when he got to work, but Hiccup begged him not to start blabbing all over the floor about it. He'd only just found out for certain himself, didn't want it to be the morning gossip. Mechanics were worse than receptionists when it came to gossip, he was certain. When he had a break, he headed into his dad's office and closed the door so they could chat more freely.

"So, this is for real? She's gonna stay with her fella and have your kid?"

"Yes. Eret sees the child as his too, and said he'd have dated Astrid if she already had a child when they met."

"Then why were they on a break so you two could..."

His dad made a crude sort of gesture, and Hiccup rolled his eyes and threw a grape at his dad.

"Behave! And that's their business. From what I've seen, they are perfectly happy together. And happy for me to be involved in raising the baby, which is all I could ask for."

"Shame. You always did have a thing for Astrid."

"Dad! That was years ago. We had a one night stand. And used protection, before you ask! But the test came back that it's me, and we're gonna figure it out. I have no intentions of coming between their romantic relationship. We're gonna spend the next few months getting to know each other, to make sure everyone is happy about who is raising their kid. And that's that."

Brief pangs of loneliness and disappointment didn't matter, Hiccup knew. He had far more important things to be worrying about.

-HTTYD-

**'Coming between' is such a funny phrase to me, I can't help but use it. And short chapter, but I felt like none of the next bit fit here. So... enjoy!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I really wish I was still the sort of author who could have like, chapters written in advance. But I'm not, I'm a timeless disaster and I think y'all know that.**

**Anyway... on to the fic!**

-HTTYD-

After a little time spent anxiously hovering in the car park, Hiccup finally worked up the nerve to actually go in. His heart was fluttering somewhere level with his stomach, thankful when he spotted Eret who was obviously looking for him.

"There you are. Astrid was worried you'd bailed."

"Definitely not. I was stuck in traffic."

That was a lie, but Hiccup didn't feel like he knew Eret well enough to admit just how nervous he was, and he couldn't even describe _why_ very well either. Still, he definitely wanted to see the ultrasound, and so they hurried along to find Astrid looking very impatient in the waiting room.

"About time!"

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't miss it did I?"

Astrid shook her head, resting her hands on her still-flat stomach. A couple of other people in the waiting room gave the three-group sideways looks, but Hiccup didn't care. He sat down on the uncomfortable plastic seat, drumming his fingers against his knees to try and distract from anticipation and awkward silence. Some twenty minutes after her appointment time - fairly quick by NHS standards, Hiccup chuckled inwardly - a man left the room they were waiting outside of, and he didn't look to be dressed as staff.

"Hofferson?"

Someone called out from the reception desk, and Astrid stood up.

"Yeah?"

"You can go in now."

Eret and Hiccup trailed in after her, earning a look of confusion from the professional waiting to scan her.

"Usually there's only a plus one, not plus two."

"Oh. Yeah. This is Eret, my boyfriend. And this is Hiccup, he's the father. I did call ahead to check I could bring them both."

A check of Astrid's notes seemed to confirm this, and Astrid was asked some questions on how she was faring symptom-wise as she got up on her seat and rolled up her shirt. Hiccup hovered awkwardly, unsure what to do with himself while they waited. He relaxed a bit when he saw the goo being applied, as that meant they were getting on to the whole reason he'd been invited along.

"Ready?"

Astrid nodded, and the scanner was lowered to her stomach. Hiccup watched the image coming into view on the monitor, a fuzzy blob at first before he began to pick out the shapes among the fuzz.

"Wow."

Was all he could say, feeling a little choked up by the image alone, and then the _sound_ came along and Hiccup realised that it was the baby's heartbeat.

"Is it meant to be that fast? Sounds like mine when I've been hill running."

Astrid snorted and rolled her eyes at Eret, who grinned back at her.

"Yes, the heartbeat looks perfectly normal. And everything looks healthy from what I can see."

Hiccup only sort of heard everyone else talking, watching the little movements and listening to the sound of the heartbeat whooshing away.

"Did you want a sex prediction? We can't always be certain at this point but-"

"No need. We had a paternity test, already know that for now, we're having a baby girl. Might change their mind later, but I think it's a _bit_ soon to worry about that."

Astrid answered, never taking her eyes off the screen either. They were all quite transfixed, it seemed. He was disappointed when it was over, though Astrid did request an extra print out of the ultrasound to give to Hiccup.

The three of them left together, and when they got outside Astrid turned to Hiccup.

"You coming back with us? Since we're meant to be hanging out and all."

"Oh. Uh. Sure, I'll follow you guys?"

She nodded, and Hiccup headed to his car alone to follow Astrid and Eret in theirs back to their place. They waited outside to let him in to the building, soon behind closed doors in their flat again.

"Oh, I have a question."

Hiccup suddenly remembered as he looked around, both Astrid and Eret turning to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you guys planning on moving out of here?"

"Probably, we'll need more space. Why?"

"Cus I was thinking before how I don't want to live above the pub forever, especially not when it's my time with the baby. But I didn't want to look until I knew what sort of area to choose that'll be mutually convenient between work and you guys."

Eret gave a short nod before asking if either of them wanted a drink. Hiccup asked for water, and Astrid asked for coffee, complaining at Eret's retreating back that she missed caffeine before she turned and dropped herself on to the sofa, stretching out.

"That makes sense. Sit down, you're making me antsy. Yeah, we'll be wanting to move out but we're not gonna be going far, we both have jobs near here and this area is mutually convenient between our parents."

Hiccup sat down obediently, glad to have some confirmation so he could start looking for somewhere more suitable to spend time with his daughter at weekends in the future. The flat over the pub was fine for _him,_ but no place for a baby. The stairs alone would have been a challenge. He had a ridiculous thought of what his teenaged self would do, as he was forever tinkering and coming up with slightly insane projects before settling into mechanics, and pictured building a sort of lift to lower the baby out of the window so he didn't drop her down the steps.

He did _not_ share the obviously-a-joke idea with Astrid, lest she think he was a terribly unsafe choice to entrust a child to. Eret returned with a glass for Hiccup and a _huge_ mug for Astrid, then went to pick up another mug for himself. Astrid lifted her legs so Eret could sit down, then slung her legs across his lap and sipped her drink.

"Thanks babe."

"Any time. I'm just gonna go call my pops and let him and mom know everything went well at the ultrasound."

"How did your parents take the paternity results?"

Hiccup asked, not sure if he was overstepping the mark but curious how everyone else was dealing with their situation.

"Pops is a little upset, but he'll get over it. It's not you, or Astrid he's upset about. Him and mom couldn't have more kids after me, so I'm currently the last in our line right now and his first grandkid isn't Sami by blood. But Sami are big on family, and he's got a few months to get used to it. He was glad to hear you were on board with me raising them as one of us anyway."

Hiccup nodded.

"Sami are few in number already, it can't be easy on him. I made sure my dad understands that your heritage will be a part of her life, and you already know my mom's side are pro Indigenous rights. I don't want to cause your family any upset."

Eret smiled.

"I know. And I'm grateful for that, I really am. Just gonna go call them."

He leant down to kiss Astrid before he left the room holding his drink and his phone, Astrid turning to look over at Hiccup when it was just them again.

"You gonna call your parents too?"

"Not right now. I'll see my dad at work tomorrow, and I'm seeing mom for dinner the day after."

Astrid nodded, placing her cup down so she could take her hair down. Hiccup silently admired her hair; he'd always liked it, even back when they were younger, and now it was longer and a little brighter and wavy from the braid she pretty much always wore it up in as she combed her fingers through.

"Muuuuuch better."

Hiccup still felt a bit awkward, unsure how to initiate conversation. Astrid didn't seem to have as much of an issue, but she was also mostly focused on her enormous cup of coffee.

"Don't worry, it's decaf."

"I figured, since you yelled at Eret about caffeine."

Astrid grinned.

"Yeah. I noticed you staring at the cup."

"Oh, I was just thinking how it's a huge cup. If I drank that much caffeine I'd be awake for _days,_ and I assume you were drinking caffeinated coffee out of it before."

"I was, but I loooove coffee. Not a morning person, this cup is what lures me out of bed every day. I have a huge one of those reusable travel mugs for when I stop at coffee shops. Less waste, more caffeine. It's a win win!"

Eret returned before long, all smiles. Hiccup could definitely see what Astrid saw in him so far; he was funny and easy-going, and definitely easy on the eye. Plus, he was understanding, accepting... Hel, _supportive_ despite Astrid being pregnant by someone else. He even seemed genuinely excited!

"What are we talking about?"

"Astrid's love of coffee."

Eret laughed, giving his girlfriend a side-ways look that earned him a lazy glare.

"Oh yeah, Astrid's _blood type_ is probably coffee."

"And what? My heart and blood pressure all checked out, the caffeine hasn't killed me yet. But I am aware that my caffeine intake is bad for babies, so I am dutifully giving it up! I even want to breastfeed so I can only have one caffeinated drink per day when she's born!"

That gave Hiccup a thought.

"You are? Should I stock up on baby formula or will you be... bottling it up?"

Eret snickered, shaking his head.

"That's quite an image. Hey Hiccup, enjoy your weekend, here's something we squeezed out of Astrid to help."

Astrid rolled her eyes at Eret before answering.

"Assuming there's no issues, I'll be squeezing an actual human out. I think expressed milk is fairly minor. But we'll see. I might not be able to feed, or express. Get a couple of tubs of formula and bottle sterilising stuff just in case, but like, closer to the time. No point you having it all at your flat now if you're gonna be moving."

They lulled into quiet for a minute, before there was the audible sound of a growling stomach. Eret laughed and patted his belly.

"Well, guess that means time for food. What are you in the mood for Astrid?"

"Hmm. Oooh, I know! Chicken with that spicy sauce you made last week? Do we have the right stuff in?"

Eret seemed to do a mental inventory, then nodded.

"Yeah, we should do. Vegetables?"

"Yeah, gotta get my greens."

Hiccup couldn't quite help himself.

"Need some help? I'm good in the kitchen."

Eret seemed a little... surprised by the offer, shrugging as he stood up.

"Uh, I guess? I can manage on my own though. Anything to keep Astrid out of the kitchen."

"Asshole."

Hiccup laughed as Astrid pouted.

"Still not much luck with the culinary arts? I remember that blender you blew up."

"Oh, of course! You'll be full of fun school anecdotes about her. Tell me more!"

Astrid groaned as Hiccup stood up, flopping her head back on to the sofa.

"Unfair!"

Hiccup followed Eret in to the kitchen, both taking turns to wash their hands at the sink before Eret moved to the fridge. He seemed to keep a good foot or so between himself and Hiccup, as much as the modest kitchen allowed anyway.

"I'll do the chicken, since it's my sauce. You alright chopping vegetables?"

"Yeah. Do you guys use spices or oil or just boil them in to submission?"

Eret snickered.

"Yeah, I've noticed the British attitude to vegetables is to boil them until you could use them as finger paint. Very hot finger paint. I roast and season. Spice rack is over here."

He opened a door to reveal a well stocked collection of spices, grabbed a few for himself and then moved away from him. Hiccup still felt a bit... _avoided,_ but he was probably being paranoid. Eret hadn't shown he had any issue with Hiccup so far, which was saying a lot considering Hiccup had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. The other man did seem to keep looking over at Hiccup, though he was always looking away when Hiccup turned to check.

Still, cooking was something Hiccup could do easily, and so he got to work until he had a tray covered in vegetables coated in oil and herbs and spices. He'd already checked on pregancy-safe foods, so he wouldn't accidentally make Astrid ill bringing her anything he'd cooked at home.

"I'm not touching anything! But do we have stuff for cake in? Also I need more coffee."

Astrid called from the door, giving Eret an exaggerated kicked-puppy look as she held her mug out to him. He went to retrieve it, then peered in to cupboards and the fridge.

"Yeah, we do. Is that a strong hint that you'd like dessert?"

"Mayyyyybe. Nobody mention eating for two is a myth. I'm hungry."

"You wanna make a cake or should I? I don't know if you do sweet stuff."

Eret gave him a rather odd look, then nodded.

"Go ahead. Though if you keep this up, Astrid's gonna decide to kidnap you and keep you as a kitchen slave."

"I don't know, if I cuffed him to the oven he'd struggle to hold the baby."

Hiccup bit back a comment that at least he'd see them more than just on weekends, not wanting to come across resentful. Once the food had gone in to the oven, Eret hovered, quiet unless Hiccup asked for something.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

Hiccup eventually couldn't handle the tense air, stirring together cake batter rather than look at Eret as he asked.

"No, why?"

"Just... you said you wanted anecdotes about Astrid, but you've barely said a word since we came in here. And you keep standing at the other end of the kitchen."

His question seemed to catch Eret off balance, as it took the other man a minute to answer.

"Just trying to avoid knocking elbows. And I didn't want to distract you while you were holding a knife."

Well, it sounded plausible enough, though Hiccup still felt like Eret wasn't being entirely honest. He had nothing to base it on though, since he hadn't exactly had the time to get to know Eret well yet.

"That's all?"

"Yep. That's all."

Eret excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Hiccup stood with a bowl of cake mix in front of him. Well, they had six months for Eret to get over whatever was bothering him, he guessed. He hoped it was long enough.

-HTTYD-

**Poor baby bi Eret, trying to be nice and avoid licking Hiccup.**


End file.
